Step Free Access for Mill Hill Broadway Thameslink station

During the election in May, every political party and every candidate supported the idea of step free access at Mill Hill Broadway rail station. According to the office of rail and road, over 2.4 million people use the station every year, of which zero use a wheelchair. This is because the main station exit has steep stairs and although there is an easily accessible entrance on platform 4, there is no bridge to other platforms and no regular trains to this platform. To me, this is scandalous. It is not only people using wheelchairs that suffer, also mothers with pushchairs, elderly people who have difficulty climbing chairs etc, also have difficulty ascending the platforms.

What is even worse is that the three nearest tube stations, Burnt Oak, Colindale and Mill Hill East also have no step free access. Mill Hill is a major transport hub, with seven London Bus routes stopping at the station. The time has come to take Mill Hill out of the 19th century and into the 21st century. A footbridge and some minor works on platform 4 would enable step free access for all and free up London to local people. The Thameslink station connects with West Hampstead, St Pancras, Farringdon and Blackfriars. It will open up Luton Airport, Gatwick airport and when Crossrail opens, Heathrow Airport for easy journeys.

I was pleased to see that Thameslink Rail were circulating a survey to see whether there is demand for such a service (although with over 2.4 million people a year using the station it is hard to believe there isn't). Sadly when you click the link on the survey, you get a page not found http://www.thameslinkrailway.com/accessibilitysurvey.

What we need in the community is our MP, Matthew Offord, our GLA rep Andrew Dismore and the council all to back the campaign. We need to make this happen. I for one do not see why disabled people in Mill Hill are any less deserving than other stations on the line of proper facilities.

So lets all support this campaign. A good start would be to ask Thameslink to sort out their website.